Todd Basche joined us via Zoom meeting from Las Altos, California. He shared with us the triumphs and challenges of his Wordlock invention and lots more!

YOU’VE BEEN INVENTING SINCE YOU WERE 10 YEARS OLD. HOW DID THAT JOURNEY START?

My dad was an engineer, he was always thinking big.

One day in the summer he wanted to put an air-conditioner in their bedroom, but he only had one window in the bedroom and he didn’t want to use up that window with the air-conditioner, so he said, let's just put it in the wall. And I was a little kid and I said, what do you mean? There are walls, and bricks and wires, and he's like, we'll just figure it out. So we went to the store, we bought the air-conditioner, we measured on the wall, we went on a ladder outside and we chiseled all the bricks away, we cut a hole in the wall, and put the sleeve in and put the air-conditioner in. He always showed me that if you can dream it, you can make it happen.

And then first thing that I ever invented was an alarm clock. Instead of my alarm being the little wind-up baby Ben clocks, I had my turntable when I was 10 and I set it up with a timer so it would play a particular album at the time to wake me up so I could wake up to whatever song I wanted to wake up to. That was really cool and I was excited because I just thought of that and I did it; I started doing things like that all the time. 

AWESOME. YOUR DAD LAID A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR YOU. 

Yes, he did. 

YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT YOU TRIED TO INVENT PORTABLE YOGURT. I WAS WONDERING WHAT THAT IS, NEVER HEARD OF IT.

When our son was little, he would go off to daycare and he really liked yogurt but he couldn’t manage spooning all that stuff so I would take yogurt and put it in a little baggie, then seal the baggie with one of those kitchen bag sealers, and it would be this little tube; he could take it with him, squeeze it and just have his yogurt. 

I called it yogo; yogurt for people on the go...    And took it around, that was one of the first experiences I had in trying to take it around to license something, but I was too inexperienced, so I couldn't figure out how to do it... And eventually gogurt was created by a big yogurt company.  

IT IS INTERESTING TO SEE HOW YOU EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS. YOU FOUND YOURSELF IN A SITUATION AND EXPERIMENTED WITH IDEAS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. NOW TO THE BIG INVENTION WORDLOCK, WHAT EXPERIENCE LEAD YOU TO COME UP WITH A COMBINATION LOCK SYSTEM THAT USES LETTERS INSTEAD OF WORDS?

So our house has a pool in the backyard and it has a fence around it; when our son was little and didn’t swim, we had to lock the gate, and we were afraid of leaving the key to the lock in the house... And we would go out in our bathing suits for a swim, and we'd have to go back to the house. So we put a combination lock on the gate and it was one of those 3 to the right, 17 to the left, go round twice; nobody could remember that combination...

I got frustrated and said gee if I could set the combination to "pool" or "water", it would be easier to remember. And I looked around and looked around... Nobody had ever done a lock that used words instead of numbers, I figured out how to do it. I patented it, trademarked the name "Wordlock" ended up licensing it through Staples, and I ended up taking the license back.

My wife and I started a company and we did bike locks, luggage locks, and laptop locks, every type of lock you can imagine. We sold tens of millions of the locks, and we were in 40,000 stores... CVS, Walgreens, Target, Walmart, Amazon, Dicks Sporting Goods; we got into 11 countries.

TV shows wrote us into their scripts, on TV shows like The Great Chase type of shows, and we were in every magazine that you could think of from Readers Digest to Men's Journal, I was on The Regis and Kelly TV Show.  It was a fantastic ride and we ended up selling the company and they are still selling them to this day.

If you look it up on Amazon or Target, it's still one of the top selling locks in the world which is kind of incredible and if you go to the bridges in France where they have the locks of love on those bridges, you'll also see tons of Wordlocks built through out there, and it always makes us smile when we see that.

WOW! THAT MUST HAVE BEEN AN AH AH MOMENT FOR YOU, BECAUSE THAT RARELY HAPPENS TO MOST INVENTORS. I BELIEVE THAT WAS YOUR FIRST MAJOR INVENTION?

Yeah, that was the first one that really went mega. 

THAT’S REALLY IMPRESSIVE… AND THE NAME “WORDLOCK”, HOW DID YOU COME ABOUT IT? 

A lock that uses words instead of numbers... Words are easier to remember, words are how we communicate. We don't communicate in numbers so it seemed like a logical thing... When I looked up the trademark, nobody had trademarked it, so remarkably, we were able to trademark that.

NOW DID YOU HAVE TO WORK WITH A PATENT LAWYER WHILE YOU WERE TRYING TO TRADEMARK, DO THE PROTOTYPE?

Yes, yes, we did... And that was a difficult process. It takes a lot of money to trademark and patent. Most inventors don't realize how expensive that really can be.

YOU PAID FOR THIS OUT OF POCKET?

Yeah, all out of pocket.

WOULD YOU SAY THAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF THE INVENTION PROCESS FOR YOU?

Well, that was the most financially challenging... In speaking to other inventors, I would say a couple of things, number one, taking an idea from your head to the store shelf is an arduous journey.

But first thing when you have an idea and you think it's great, people go talk to 3 or 4 friends that would say "Yeah, that's great, that's amazing, that's fantastic" and what I find having talked to hundreds of inventors is that they haven’t yet googled to see if what they thought off really exists which is amazing, they're like "oh I talked to my friends, and they all think that would be great" and I’m like yeah there could be a 100 of them already in the market.. So first, google the heck out of it and make sure it doesn’t exist. After that you need to talk to people who aren’t your friends but who are in the demographic that you think might use the product and go bounce it off of 25 or 50 of them and you would learn tremendous amount before you spend a dime, before you trademark or patent, or make a prototype.

The way I did the prototype, I took a regular combination lock and I filled in all the numbers with plastic glue... And when it dried, I had a guy at a jewelry store who had an engraving machine, engrave the letters in... And it cost me like 50 box to have him engrave the letters in, and that was as much as I spent to validate that it was really going to be a big idea, people would really use it and pay money... Lots of inventors spend thousands or tens of thousands of dollars patenting, and trademarking, doing it all in secret and never really understanding whether there’s a market for their product.

YOU ANSWERED SOME QUESTIONS I WAS GOING TO ASK YOU, ADVICE TO INVENTORS... YOU MENTIONED INVENTORS TALKING TO THEIR FRIENDS, DOING SOME RESEARCH, INVENTORS WHO KEEP THINGS SECRET... AMONG INVENTORS THERE'S A TENDENCY THAT THEY WANT TO BE CAREFUL HOW THEY SHARE THEIR IDEA; THEY DON'T WANT SOMEBODY ELSE TO STEAL THEIR IDEA...

What I tell inventors is.... If you think back to what Edison said when he did the light bulb, Edison said invention is one percent inspiration, 99% perspiration; so the idea is, OK, let's make the light bulb, but he tried 10,000 different things as filaments so he could have told a 100 friends, I have this idea for a light bulb that lights up, and it’s like OK how the heck do you do that, so inventors my advice is that, you haven’t come up with DNA recombinement therapy or something... You've got an idea, don't be secretive about it; talk to people about it.. Validate that:

* Number 1 the idea doesn’t exist already

* Number 2 there's a real market. You would have what we call product market fit, and do that before you spend any kind of money on it.

THAT MAKES SENSE... SO AN INVENTOR WHO IS VERY GREEN, FIRST TIME EVER DOING IT, WOULD YOU ALSO SUGGEST A LAWYER AS A GUIDE OR SOME INVENTOR GROUPS AND ASSOCIATIONS, IF YOU'RE SO GREEN AT IT, YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING BUT YOU JUST HAVE AN IDEA?

I wouldn’t go to a lawyer. That's not their thing. They are ready to help you with incorporation, company names and searches, should you be an LLC, an S-CORP and all that stuff. Don't do any of that, get a drawing of what the idea could be, go on the web, get Fiverr or someone who for a 100 box would do a quick rendering of "hey I’ve got this idea…” I had an idea for an umbrella at the beach, where the bottom part of the umbrella was like a corkscrew so you could spin it into the ground, I thought that was a great idea, and I had a guy do a rendering of it for 50 box just so I could show people what I was thinking about, and then I found out lots of people had done that already; so you want to try to mark it up as quickly as you can, as inexpensive as you can... I think other inventor groups can definitely be helpful but I’ll stay away from lawyers.

ABSOLUTELY, NOW LETS PIGGY BACK TO THE STAPLES CONTEST… THAT CONTEST GAVE YOU THAT EXPOSURE, IT GAVE YOU YOUR FIRST BIG BREAK, AND YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT BEING IN OTHER COUNTRIES OVERSEAS, HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO GET THE LICENSING TO EXPAND TO OTHER COUNTRIES AND DID YOU NEED TO PATENT WORDLOCK IN EACH OF THOSE COUNTRIES? 

There's a couple of questions there... 

The first thing is, I entered this Staples contest kind of on a whim, and I knew that I had a solid idea because I had taken it to schools, taken it to principles; by taking this prototype all over the place I had gotten that product market validation so I knew I had product market fit. 

I guess the Staples contest was something I thought would be fun. That we won was... nobody was more surprised than my wife and I. And that was thrilling, that gave me good exposure but the licensing that I got from Staples was not like millions of dollars, so you don't get rich on a licensing deal. You get a little bit of income coming in to fund your next idea, and we took the license back and started our own company; we found factories in China

and we built everything overseas, my wife Rahn and I did packaging, marketing, sales, and returns... licensing is so much easier if you can figure out a couple of ideas that you can license faster, easier, less stressful than deciding to build everything yourself. 

YES, YOU NEED THAT DIVISION OF LABOR... SO WITH STAPLES YOU WON $25,OOO THIS IS ASIDE THE LICENSING. WHAT I'VE HEARD ABOUT LICENSING DEALS THE INVENTOR GETS 5% OR 10%. HOW WAS IT FOR YOU, MORE THAN 10% OR LESS? 

I think it was 14%. I honestly can't remember.

AND YOU WERE ABLE TO RENEGOTIATE AND YOU STARTED YOUR OWN COMPANY, YOU WENT OVERSEAS. DID YOU HAVE TO START ALL OVER TO DO A PATENT IN THOSE COUNTRIES?

I chose not to do a patent in those countries because it’s such a big expense, so I just said if somebody wants to they would rip me off…  You know when you go to tradeshows like travel shows, bike shows, you go to specific trade shows about your product in the industry, and you get a little 10" by 10" booth, and you get a banner printed down at FedEx, and Kinkos and then you’re often running.

We went to the first trade show, a travel show with six of our travel locks... This were handmade products of the travel logs, we had no packaging so we brought somebody else's travel lock package, carefully took the locks out of it, put our lock into it, we printed on a color printer, our version of what a package might look like that we had bought up for like a hundred box, then we glued that on top of all these packages. We didn’t know how to do bubble sealed packages and all that stuff...

And then people came over, they pick it up and they play with it and say "this is great, OK we’ll take a thousand of them.” We were like "hello?" and they said “how much is it?” and we said “I don't know." 

We really hadn't done enough home work.

And they said “give me your data sheet and your order form”, then we said "why do you need that stuff, what are you talking about...” And then Brookstone came by and said "We want to put it in all the Brookstone stores. So, where's your order form? What's the pricing, will you do co-branding?” 

We just like figured it out on the fly; so you go to the tradeshows and they were like "I’m a distributor from England, and I'll like to carry the lock over there", so that's how you go across the pond to the different countries, that's how we got into 11 countries.

THAT WAS MY NEXT QUESTION. COUNTRIES YOU WERE IN, YOU JUST MENTIONED ENGLAND AND…

There were 11 countries, it was England, Spain, Germany, Norway... I can't remember the rest of them..

DID YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE WORDLOCK IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRIES THAT DON'T SPEAK ENGLISH? 

So we tried that, we did a Spanish version of the Wordlock and nobody bought it. When we went and interviewed people who spoke Spanish in the United States, they said "no we like to use our English" we don't want it in the native language. And when we talked to people in Mexico they said the same thing, they said "we prefer English than Spanish locks.” So, all the ones overseas were all in English.

YOU HAD DIFFERENT VERSIONS, DIFFERENT MODELS OF IT

We did a version of this, this had three letter acronyms. So like Major League Baseball, you could get a lock with the preset combination; it was MLB, MBA, LOL, BRB be right back, all those, we did these kinds of pretty locks.

AND PEOPLE WERE USING IT FOR EVERYTHING FROM LUGGUAGES TO POOL LOCKS, BIKES, WOW...

So these we sold a lot of... Parents bought for their kids to lock their bikes, and they came in all kinds of colors.. And there were lock boxes for houses, and all types of different dress locks. . 

LOTS OF CREATIVITY THERE... AND THEY'RE NOT TOO EXPENSIVE

They were basically the same price as regular locks

NOT EXPENSIVE AT ALL FOR ALL OF THE FEATURES, DESIGNS... YOU DID MENTION, MOVIES AND BOOKS, I’M KIND OF INTRIGUED. WHAT WERE THE MOVIES, THE BOOKS? 

AND IT'S STILL IN GOOD CONDITION...

Yeah...

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS…

This was a gift from my wife

THAT'S NEAT. THAT'S A REALLY COOL GIFT, NOTEBOOK

It's beautiful

ALMOST LIKE YOUR BIBLE OF INVENTION IDEAS...

It's much harder than people think but it's definitely doable, and I encourage everybody to try it but go through these key steps:

Number 1 is check to make sure what you want to do hasn’t been done before or somebody hasn't done something that is so close as to invalidate what you want to do

Number 2 mock it up, it can be any fidelity, it can be a hand drawing, it can be bullet points to describe it... you can go online on Fiverr or one of these online services and give somebody enough of the description that they can now render it with AI.

They can make it look like a beautiful ring as if that was already made. 

People are like “Oh I have to find manufacturing, I have to do design…” and it’s like “no you don't have to do any of that”, just describe the idea, and have somebody do a quick rendering of it, and then go around to the people who you would think would want it, and say “hey, here's what I’m thinking about, here's the problem it solves”.

These are my all-time Top 4 questions for new inventors:

1. What problem are you solving?

2. Who are you solving it for?

3. What are those people doing today?

4. What is unique about what you do?

YOU MAKE IT SO SIMPLE. YOU BREAK IT DOWN REALLY WELL, SIMPLE STEPS ABCD...

Right.​ 

YOU DID MENTION, THAT'S KIND OF WHAT YOU DO CURRENTLY... YOU MENTOR, YOU COACH UP AND COMING INVENTORS...

I do consulting for startups and mid-stage companies who are trying to come up with new ideas... So I help them through this process of coming up with new ideas and validate those ideas… These big companies do the same thing, spend millions of dollars on something and they don't know if people really want it. 

SO YOU GUIDE THEM ON IT, TAKE THEM THROUGH THE STEPS YOU JUST MENTIONED.

Yeah, usually it's like a 3-months engagement... We interview customers, we take these mockups, we get their feedback... It can be enterprise software, a medical device, or electronic dog feeders; it does not matter what it is, the process is the same.

ASIDE WORDLOCK, I READ THAT YOU HAVE 33 OTHER PATENTS. YOU'VE WORKED FOR SOME MAJOR COMPANIES, DELL, APPLE... YOU WERE THE BRAIN BEHIND ILIFE, IWORK, IPHOTO...  SO YOU FOLLOWED THE STEPS YOU JUST SHARED IN HELPING TO INVENT THESE PRODUCTS

Yes, yes, exactly right. So, using those same steps at a large company or small company, or by yourself in a garage, you get to do things bigger and faster at scale when you have 500 people working for you in development, but it's basically the same process

SURE IS, SO WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?

So, I work out of my peleton over here, I hike, I play pickle ball, I hang out with my family, all that kind of stuff

PERFECT. THANK YOU FOR MAKING TIME TO CHAT WITH US. THIS HAS BEEN GREAT. THERE’S A LOT TO LEARN FROM YOU.  APPRECIATE THIS TIME.

TODD BASCHE COACHES INVENTORS, HE CAN BE REACHED AT:

https://www.pickmybrain.world/profiles/todd-basche

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE WORLD OF INVENTING AND PRODUCT DESIGN?

I was blessed to grow up in a home where if you needed something that you didn’t have or needed to solve a problem you made it, whether that be Christmas ornaments, fishing gear, or things for work. I had a great example of creativity growing up and when I found myself having a problem that there was not a product for on the market, I created something to solve that problem. I also made learning resources and games for my classroom as a teacher and for my children.  At that time I didn’t think of it as inventing or designing- I was just doing what I saw my parents do – see a need or a problem and do something about it. 

YOU HAVE A NUMBER OF INVENTIONS UNDER YOUR BELT, HOW DID ONE LEAD TO THE NEXT? 

Once I went through the process a couple of times, it just became natural to me. After inventing/creating and licensing for the housewares industry, I thought that I should do the same thing for the game and toy industry! I thought it would be fun to bring the games we were playing as a family into the homes of other families to play. Now I am hooked and love creating for the toy and game industry. I still invent in the housewares industry as well as a few other industries, but I spend the bulk of my time in the toy and game industry. This is due largely to the fact I get to work with my family a lot and have fun while doing so! They are a huge part of what I do! 

WHAT STEPS DO YOU TAKE FROM IDEA TO INVENTION? 

When I decide to work on an idea I typically have a prototype or at least a virtual prototype depending on the industry. If it is a game I am working on will, I will most definitely have a prototype that has been thoroughly playtested. I will also shoot videos and make a sizzle video to showcase how fun the game is as well as the unique details and gameplay of the game. On rare occasions I will file some sort of IP for a game, but typically not. I do however file a PPA on products in other industries that I work in such as the housewares industry or pet industry.  Once I have the product set with marketing material such as a sizzle video I then set up meetings to present it to companies that I think it would be a great fit for.

YOU ALSO A DESIGNER, YOU COACH UPCOMING INVENTORS. HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT, HOW DO YOU DO IT ALL? 

Yes, I do some design work in the novelty space as well as co-design games or do work for hire for companies. This came about from building relationships in the industry. Often times game inventors are referred to game designers. Sometimes games are more about design then innovation and sometimes it can be the other way around! So I like to say that I am an inventor and designer! 

I coached new inventors for a few years with the company inventRight, whom I also used to help me license a product and learn new techniques from.  They are fantastic! I really enjoyed coaching new inventors and was working on so many projects myself. After a few years I had decided to spend my time inventing full time. This helps me concentrate on my own projects as well as my family. I can’t stop teaching because I do enjoy it so I put out weekly videos on LinkedIn and on my youtube channel to help other inventors. On Thursdays I discuss information and tips in the toy and game industry with Ed Gartin and on Fridays I release a video in my series called The Documented Life of an Inventor, where I give a weekly recap of things that happened that week as well as information and tips to help in various industries. 

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR UPCOMING INVENTORS AND PRODUCT DESIGNERS? 

Great question! I think it is very valuable to learn from those who have gone before you. Learn from others and soak up all the information you can. Once you have things down, then make them your own by adding to them or changing things up a bit. 

Also, be gracious about receiving feedback and don’t take it personal if your product is not a fit for a company. There are many reasons it may not be a fit at that time. Keep at it and keep pitching it to companies if you believe in it enough.  Some concepts I’ve licensed right away while others have taken a couple of years. I still pitch them when I find new companies that could be a fit. It’s important to keep coming up with more ideas and not get ‘stuck’ on your first one! 

It is fun and rewarding so if you have it in you, then stick to it and remember to enjoy the journey!

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE INVENTION OR DESIGN? WHAT’S YOUR MOST MEMORABLE SO FAR?

Wow! I think they are all my favorites for different reasons! For example, Right Height adjustable over the door hook was my first product to make it to the retail spaces, while the Caterpeeler is special because one of my sons drew up the idea for me when I had it because I am not a great artist. Clueless the Party game was so much fun to co-design with Wilder, as I loved the movie while in high school! Hooked on Hoops has really allowed our family and other families to play basketball and do trick shots anywhere, which is so much fun! My newest game coming out this month called FormWorm with Martinex is my first learning game on the market, which is super exciting with my teacher background. And my other games coming out in 2024 all have a special meaning as well and so does the product in the party industry coming out in 2024! 

For more inventor resources and to purchase products please visit 4ascreations.com

As a jewelry lover, I was always frustrated by the age-old problem of my necklace clasp moving next to my pendant and taking the spotlight away from it. I was tired of constantly twisting my necklace around my neck to try and keep the clasp in the back. I didn't want to add beads, counterweights, or make homemade changes to my necklace, so I set out to come up with a new, creative solution.

I first tried modifying pendant bails, but I just couldn't find a good solution. When I shifted my focus from the bail to the chain the solution came to me almost immediately. I designed a small, barely visible finding I call "Pendant Saddle®" that holds the pendant in place on the chain. It allows you to easily slide your pendant's bail in and out of the saddle, so you can use it with different pendants. By using the Pendant Saddle®, the pendant becomes the counterweight to the clasp and keeps the chain from moving. The clasp stays securely in the back, where it belongs. And the best part is, you can be active and not have to worry about the clasp moving to the front. It's a simple, elegant solution that you won't find anywhere else.

Pendant saddle is available for purchase on Amazon: 

https://flowcode.com/p/l4JIUKRoV?fc=0

​WHAT INSPIRED THE IDEA?                                                                       

I had recently moved in with a friend and for dinner that night, he roasted a pork loin in the oven using a baking pan and a silicone baking mat. I had not seen or used a silicone baking mat before, but he explained that they’re used to prevent food from sticking to the pan and to help cook food more quickly and evenly.  When I went to do the dishes, I removed the silicone mat from the baking sheet only to find that the liquids from the meat had seeped beyond the mat and baked onto the baking sheet! I placed the silicone mat into the dishwasher and then spent 10 minutes scrubbing the baking sheet. I thought, “The purpose of this mat is completely defeated if you use it with foods that seep liquids. Why am I still scrubbing this bakeware if the mat is meant to prevent foods from sticking?" After dinner, I sat down to search online for a silicone mat that was leakproof but I couldn’t find one.

WHAT WERE THE STEPS YOU TOOK TO BRING THIS IDEA TO REALITY?            

After I had the idea for the baking mat, I committed to spending 1 hour every weekday to invent. I did thorough research of all the baking mats in the market and searched through patents, created strong marketing materials including a one-page sell sheet, and filed a provisional patent application. I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and purchased a few of the baking mats. As people walked by, I asked “If there was a version here that also featured a rim around the edges and was leakproof, would you buy it?” I got good feedback from everyone I spoke to. I bought a special glue from Lowes that bonds plastics, I placed the mat inside the baking sheet, measured out the edges, and made a cut into each corner. I folded up the corners and glued them, and I had a proof of concept! Following that, I made a video showing how the flat mats let food seep beyond the mat and the mess it leaves on bakeware. I then showed how my mat solves the problem. I spent a month reaching out to companies and was offered a licensing contract. Within a few months of working consistently, I was able to sign my licensing deal! From there, I worked with the licensee to develop the bbq version of the leakproof mat.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES YOU ENCOUNTERED?

When I was creating the prototype, a few of the glues I tried to use did not work to bond the corners, so I had to purchase a variety in order to make the corners stick together. I also had to make a few trips to Bed Bath & Beyond to buy multiple silicone mats, as my initial cuts did not have the correct measurements to fit into baking sheets. After three trips and a few errors, I was able to build a look-alike prototype!

WHO IS THE TARGET MARKET FOR THIS PRODUCT?                  

Anyone who cooks using an oven or a grill can be considered part of the target market! These products are also a great fit for environmentally conscious consumers. The leakproof baking mat replaces single-use foil, wax paper, and non-stick sprays which minimizes waste. The leakproof grill mat also replaces the need for foil when using the grill!

WHAT MARKET IS THIS PRODUCT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE?

These products are currently available through most major retailers including Walmart, Target, Amazon, and more! You can view both products here: 

https://www.grandfusionhousewares.com/products/baking-mat-bbq-grill-mat-bundle 

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR UPCOMING INVENTORS?

Keep seeking the right information, find a like-minded community, surround yourself with positive people who believe in you, and take action. The world needs to see your art! Ask what if and let your imagination go where it may. And know that failing isn’t avoidable, it’s absolutely necessary.

WHEN YOU ARE NOT WORKING, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN?

When I’m not working I enjoy running, craft beer, playing cello, going to the beach, arts and crafts, and spending time with family and friends.   

WHAT INSPIRED THE IDEA? 

 I have always loved the weighted feel of a rocks glass with ice, but I never liked the way ice moved around and or melted too quickly diluting the drink. While I like all the large cube products out there that stayed frozen longer, they float and rest on your nose most of the time when drinking. My thought was to have a ice cube that would stick into the glass and then almost simultaneously I thought of the perfect triangle design to create a perfect visual design as well as keeping the ice away from your face. It was just a very simple and beautiful design that came together quickly. And the name Whiskey Wedge came almost immediately to mind and brought the entire design together.

WHAT WERE THE STEPS YOU TOOK IN BRINGING THIS IDEA TO REALITY? 

My background is in architectural design, so I was able to design and model out the idea relatively quickly. I built some prototypes and created a design pitch deck to fully communicate the design. The team at Corkcicle immediately loved the idea and we worked together on the patents and bringing the final R&D into production.

WHAT WERE THE CHALLENGES YOU ENCOUNTERED?  

Getting the design for exactly the handhold to full the mold out took the most time to figure out, but the rest of the project was fairly easy to finalize.

WHO IS THE TARGET MARKET FOR THIS PRODUCT?  

Really anyone who enjoys cocktails. It’s often purchased as a gift for someone else because of the unique and fun character of the product.

WHAT MARKET IS THIS PRODUCT CURRENTLY AVAILABLE?   

It is sold in many housewares and wine/spirit stores as well as many online retailers.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR UPCOMING INVENTORS?  

Be flexible in changing your ideas. You may be locked into a one and only solution, but brands and buyers may have valuable feedback for improving the design.

WHEN YOU'RE NOT WORKING, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN? 

I love the outdoors, riding my motocross bike and traveling.

Ever been in the shower and had to sort through a clutter of body wash, shower gels, bath salts, shampoo? Doesn’t stuff falling everywhere hamper a blissful bathing experience?

Hanging Shower Caddy, a mesh design that attaches to your shower rod and not only holds your shower conveniences but keeps your shower curtain from blowing in, is just what you need.

Meet Dana Lynn Knowles, the inventor. Dana has gone through a fascinating journey... Over the years, Dana has put forth effort in various inventive ideas, and has endured the highs and lows that come with “Yes’s”, and “No’s” … With unwavering determination, she forged ahead, and here we are 2019, Dana landed a licensing deal from Grand Fusion Housewares currently sold on Amazon.

Dana Knowles talks more about her journey in this radio interview:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2758888744163921&id=239422832777204&sfnsn=mo